In Lebanon there is one gunshot a year that isn’t part of a scene of routine violence: The opening sound of the Beirut International Marathon. In a moving talk, marathon founder May El-Khalil explains why she believed a 26.2-mile running event could bring together a country divided for decades by politics and religion, even if for one day a year.

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Making peace is a marathon. Making life is a marathon. Making beauty is a marathon. But they’re worth every agonizing step.

I know THAT, but I was thinking more along the lines of those placing the order and I’m envisioning some management type or other. Shouldn’t *they* have checked a) their measurement, b) the size of the train, before placing the order?

Attention video, photography, and tech lovers: Video demonstration included in the link

……Google correctly recognizes that the worst part of modern photography is figuring out what to do with all the pictures we take. And now it’s doing something for you with a new feature for Google+ Photos called Stories. “There are products that think of photos as files, and there are products that think of photos as photos,” explains Google’s Ben Eidelson, a product manager for Google+ Photos. “But what we’re trying to do is think of photos as moments. This is a moment in your life that you want to do something with.”

Stories is a new Google+ Photos feature that automates photo album creation. It collects your photos and videos into natural groupings–like a weekend trip you took to the mountains, or a child’s soccer game–clustered around out-of-the ordinary moments. Then it builds a narrative for you around those clusters of photos, almost instantly and without any action on your part.

If you have Google+ auto-backup turned on on your iPhone or Android, it does all this automatically. You’ll wake up Monday morning and there’s an album of your pictures from the weekend waiting for you. And if you’ve backed up your photos from your computer to Google Drive, or to Google+ Photos, it will go in and backfill your old pictures too (as well as any new ones you continue to add). It is effortless, and more than a little amazing………

The government may still be wary of them, but civilians, filmmakers, and wanna-be spies all clearly want more camera-wielding drones. Now Parrot, one of the companies responsible for the whole quadcopter craze, is finally announcing its own 1080p camera-totin’ model: The Bebop Drone. Bebop comes with a built-in 14-megapixel camera that can shoot 180-degree footage with its fisheye lens. In a demo, its 3-axis image stabilization produced shake-free video (which is great, because that whole shaky cam fad always left me on the nauseous side). The quadcopter also has a gyroscope, accelerometer, altimeter, magnetometer, ultrasound, and vertical camera tucked inside its frame to keep actual flying super smooth as well.

This airborne camera-mobile also includes 802.11 AC Wi-Fi and dual 2.4GHz/5GHz antennas for connecting and streaming footage to Parrot’s new Skycontroller or your mobile device. (The latter can be used as a controller too with the Freeflight 3.0 iOS and Android app.) The Skycontroller is basically a fancy Android 4.2-running analog controller that connects to the Bebop Drone over a range up to 1.24 miles. It also includes a tablet mount so you can view its photos and videos while you navigate. The Freeflight app offers virtual, onscreen controls–as opposed to physical joysticks–as well as the ability to pre-program flight plans, including the option to schedule when and at what angle the Bebop will take a photo or video…..

I just watched The Rachel Maddow Show opening segment on Secretary Eric Shinseki and the VA. She did her usual background reporting. She noted that Secretary Shinseki was right about the number of troops needed for the Iraq war and the fact that there have been problems with the VA for decades. The setup was informative with footage of PBO advising that he would appoint Eric Shinseki to the VA. Her guest was Paul Rieckhoff, founder and executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. I have seen Rieckhoff interviewed numerous times on TRMS and I have never heard him say anything positive about President Obama and his administration. I may have missed something. There are clearly difficult systemic problems at the VA, but I just find it amazing that President Obama has done so much for the military and all we get from Rieckhoff is the (fill in the blank VA issue) response from the WH is just not good enough. He essentially wrote the script for Chuck Todd’s reporting tonight. It’s so frustrating.

MSNBC knowingly invites these guests to bash the President. But I know that Karma has it in for all those who make it their business to go on cable TV and bash this President for no good reason. Rieckhoff will get what’s coming to him sooner or later. And it won’t be anything nice.

This!!! HF, while I respect Rieckoff for his service, I can’t stand him and have never cared for him. I turned the channel when Rachel said that he was coming on. I will not listen to anyone bash PBO for what his administration is or is not doing for the military. He and FLOTUS genuinely care about the military.

Yeah I heard him say the problems are worse in the past six years…..yeah right dude. Where were you when Clinton and Bush did nothing to get claims processed down. I doubt any president has done what PBO has done. I watched The Daily Show last night and just now of the extended Interview with Aneesh Chopra who worked in PBO administration and helped fix some of the problems. You should watch it to get an incite on what PBO is doing and has done. How he is getting the private industry involved to help fix the problem to get vets records to them electronically so that they get their records from the dod to give to the va or private doctor. It’s amazing how people think oh just fix it and it’s just not that easy. The VA and vets have gone through numerous administrations who try to fix things and make it worst. Who’s to say the next president who stop the progress PBO made and either put some incompetent in charge who will muck it up.

Wow only 1% !!!! I knew prior to 2010 the incumbent re-election rate was ~90%, but this is not even the general election….this is primaries. GD Citizens United & McCutchen will make it near impossible for honest brokers to break through unfortunately.

Latest example. Our lady chief minister chose totally unknown candies for the federal level elections to fight against ‘political stalwarts’. Result? 37/39 of her candies won handsomely while these ‘stalwarts’ lost their deposits.

New Delhi: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe follows only three people on Twitter: his outspoken wife, a scandal-tainted politician and India’s prime minister-in-waiting Narendra Modi.

Modi and Abe are two leaders who came to power on platforms pledging economic revival. They share a keen interest in neighbour China’s growing regional ambitions.

Mutually appreciative messages have pinged back and forth on the micro-blogging platform since Modi won a landslide victory in India’s general election on Friday.

“Personally, I have a wonderful experience of working with Japan … I am sure we will take India-Japan ties to newer heights,” Modi said in one of several tweets, the most effusive of his replies to foreign leaders who congratulated him.

I believe the degree of partisanship is so high that even when people become aware that their reps don’t have the interests of their constituents at heart, people are so hateful of the other party that they opt to keep the devil they know. Or they simply do not vote, a strategy that results on the same outcome. And I make no exception for me. I would find it almost impossible to vote for a Republican, particularly the new breed who is infected, contaminated with TEA, whether or not they declare such affiliation.

Hi Amk. The reason americans keep voting for encumbents is because 1) its easier than having to research who the other people are since they don’t have the money or backing to run ads. 2) Pols don’t get out and press the flesh with the common man anymore and 3) There are really only about four parties but people are usually divided between Democrat or Republican. Weren’t there like 31 different parties to choice from in your elections? If we took money out of the election process there would be more parties and more people to choose from. The only thing is when Grey Davis was recalled I think there were something like 20 people on the ballet which allowed Awful Awnold to squeak in as Gov.

I just finish watching the Turnaround Arts and Talent Show again, held at the WH yesterday and I enjoy watching it again. Bravo to this program and to the wonderful kids. I saw one young man talking about how much this program has meant to him, he used to get in trouble alot, get suspended, but not anymore because of this program.

I don’t like how this is going for the families of the deceased. Repukes are just outright disgusting for their politics with no regards for those who are hurting.

Their goal is to milk this situation up to election day. In my humble opinion, the Democrats should make it there business to start airing (aggressively) what this is costing the tax payers; start reminding the repukes that maybe it’s time to open an investigation into the Iraq war that we were lied into, and explain the lost of over 4,000 men and women who were serving this country, and lives of so many others.

This is an investigation worth talking about. The repukes are loud and regardless of the facts, people are influenced by this noise when elections come around. Why would anyone vote Republican? Doesn’t make sense but they do, and they cling to lies like Benghazi with no strong statements from Democrats to shut them down.

Tell the American people how much these hearings are costing, and explain to us how Bush/Cheney got away with murder and they got NOTHING; no investigation, no jail time, and the American people got stuck with a bill for a war that created no benefits.

So true. Fortunately, the majority of Dems is focused on the midterm elections. The few that are planning HRC’s coronation 24/7 behave like children in search of the next adrenaline rush. They can’t wait for 2016 because for them, the midterms are not it. They simply forgot what happened in 2008 as they were working on their gowns and attire… they woke up one morning and a junior senator from IL had overtaken Mrs. Clinton’s huge lead on the polls. :roll:

What happened in PA with Majorie Margolis on Tuesday should have given these “children” a reality check. Both Bill & Hillary did fundraisers and ads, not to mention the candidate herself is naturally associated with the Clintons by virtue of her son being married to their daughter Chelsea.

Not only was Margolis defeated, but she lost by an astonishing amount – over 25pts. No wonder the media was unhinged yesterday with that VA story…they needed something to get back at PBO with…anything…

A personal confession: Besides POTUS, I hardly find Dems to be excellent orators (Gov. Duval is good; VPOTUS is very good). The former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer did a great job at the 2008 Democratic Convention. I didn’t know him before that day but have followed him since.

Watching Grimes yesterday take on Mitch McConnell, I concluded that this young woman was good. I could listen to her all day, as I can listen to POTUS or the First Lady. Grimes is that good. I wish her the best and forgive her for not endorsing Obamacare publicly or even saying the name of the President. She needs to win and unseat the turtle and must do what it takes. Obamacare is here to stay and KY has KYConnect.

Grimes’ speech was taken out of context by the media who wants to create rifts in the DEM party. Her speech was not anti-Obama as many were suggesting, in fact she went after McConnell and the Media and GOP are SKURRED!!!

On another note, I don’t know of many GOPers who are good orators either – especially vis-a-vis PBO. Just look at how their so-called better speakers just all flop after being made to rebut PBO’s SOTU address… We have been spoiled rotten with this President and we will notice the void AFTER he leaves office.

Oh, NCLB, I’m glad to hear your opinion on Grimes. I haven’t followed the race anymore than reading about it here. I’m a little gun shy… very tired of the disappointment in rooting for what looks like a great candidate on paper, and then, after seeing him or her speak or work a crowd, well, then just knowing, damn-it, this ain’t gonna happen. :oops: So, again, glad that she appears to clear these obstacles. I’ll follow her closely now. thx!

& btw, there’s one other Dem that I’m getting more and more interested in based solely on the few interviews I’ve seen, and on some things he’s written. He has an agile mind, very knowledgeable, thoughtful- like PBO, he often pauses and reflects before answering complex questions. Great family, all with big hearts. And the best- the man just seems perfectly authentic. It’s N.Y. Mayor Bill deBlassio. His city appears to be in for a fight for its soul. I’m going with the big guy.

Ok, so if Chris Jansing is SENIOR White House Correspondent, and Chuckie is CHIEF White House Correspondent, can I be SUPREME White House Correspondent? Or HER ROYAL HIGHNESS White House Correspondent?